Faculty Associate Donna Haverty-Stacke (History) has a new book out this January: Trotskyists on Trial: Free Speech and Political Persecution since the Age of FDR (NYU Press, 2016).

Based on newly declassified government documents and recently opened archival sources, Trotskyists on Trial explores the implications of the case for organized labor and civil liberties in wartime and postwar America. The central issue of how Americans have tolerated or suppressed dissent during moments of national crisis is not only important to our understanding of the past, but also remains a pressing concern in the post-9/11 world. This volume traces some of the implications of the compromise between rights and security that was made in the mid-twentieth century, offering historical context for some of the consequences of similar bargains struck today.

Haverty-Stacke was interviewed about the book and its relationship to contemporary concerns regarding the tension between free speech and national security on WBAI’s Law and Disorder Radio program (aired Monday, Dec. 28th). Access the podcast here.

Publisher Details:
304 pages
15 halftones
January, 2016
ISBN: 9781479851942